I am currently pregnant with my second, and my husband and I don’t really have a village that we can depend on. I want to ask my husband’s aunt to see if she’ll fly in to watch my daughter (who will be about 16 months) when it’s time to give birth (she’s retired, so I think she’ll have the time, and she was great with my daughter when she met her when she was tiny). I want my daughter to meet her sibling at the hospital, but I don’t know if I feel comfortable having the aunt drive her there since no one has ever driven or watched our daughter aside from my husband and me. Thinking of sending my husband to pick up our daughter (assuming the aunt can come watch her) and bring her to the hospital, but the hospital is 30 minutes away one way. Still playing with ideas with the hopes his aunt will say yes, but how did you go about childcare and bringing your first to the hospital for introductions?

When I was a kid My parents drove us to better neighborhoods for trick-or-treating, so they stopped at every street and let us out. Sometimes they just stopped at houses with their porch lights on. Curious to hear thoughts and if you do the same with your kids… or does it ruin the “magical” experience of Halloween?

My child takes daily oral medications that have to be delivered intravenously if he experiences vomiting or diarrhea. So, this translates to a hospital stay any time he gets a tummy bug or food poisoning. Which we have been prepared for since his diagnosis shortly after birth. Thing is, though, he's almost 3 and outside of sinus congestion, has literally NEVER been sick. We're not germaphobes, we don't sanitize anything. I'm bewildered, and the anticipation of a hospital stay is becoming (probably) worse than an actual stay.

When were your kids first sick with something gastrointestinal?

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my baby. I love spending time with her, interacting with her, watching her grow, and seeing her slowly become her own little person. That part of motherhood genuinely brings me so much joy.

But everything else that comes with being a parent? I’m finding it overwhelming.

The constant family interactions, always being needed, always having something to do, and feeling (knowing?) like my time is no longer entirely my own.

I’ve never considered myself an introvert, but I’ve also never been a particularly family-oriented person. I enjoy being around people, but I’ve always valued having control over when and with whom I socialize.

Since having a baby, I feel like there’s this expectation to constantly engage with family, coordinate visits, attend gatherings, and eventually organize playdates, birthday parties, and all the other social obligations that come with raising a child.

And honestly? I dread that part.

It’s not that I don’t want my child to have meaningful relationships or a fulfilling childhood. Of course I do. I just don’t particularly enjoy the social expectations and obligations that seem to come with making that happen.

I miss being able to socialize on my own terms rather than feeling obligated to participate simply because I’m now a parent.

I guess what I’m realizing is that I love being a mother, but I don’t necessarily love the lifestyle that society expects mothers to embrace.

Does anyone else feel this way? Like you genuinely love parenting your child, but could do without so many of the expectations and obligations that come along with it?

As a parent, it can sometimes be difficult to manage a child's study time, playtime, screen time, and sleep schedule. I think having a daily routine is important, but it should not feel too strict or stressful for children.

A good routine could include waking up on time, eating healthy meals, going to school, completing homework, spending time outdoors, doing creative activities, and getting enough sleep.

I also feel that children need some free time to explore their interests instead of having every minute of the day planned. Some children enjoy reading or drawing, while others prefer sports, puzzles, or building things.

What works best for one child may not work for another, depending on their age and personality.

My baby is 10 months old, and I’d love to hear from other parents about what play looks like at this age. My baby still puts almost everything in his mouth. For example, he will pick up a toy car and chew on it rather than trying to roll it along. I’m also wondering at what age babies typically start imitating gestures. My baby doesn’t clap their hands or point yet.What are your babies doing at this age?

I’m 34 weeks pregnant and I’m currently on maternity leave now. I thought now I have free time, I can use this opportunity to spend more time with my daughter (2 yrs old). Nope, right when she wakes up, she only asks for dad. Cries for dad. Asks only dad to do things. Full blown tantrums. At first I was really hurt but now I’m desensitized to her needing dad more than me. Tbh, I’m just annoyed. My husband says “she cries for you too” and I’m like yeah doubt it, I don’t need the pity. Let me be annoyed by her.

They both established a morning routine while I’m at work. I only spend time with her for bedtime or weekends. So I get it.

It sucks. Now that im pregnant, I’m limited on a lot of things like carrying her or rough housing her like I used to so it’s not the same. But I gotta take care of the baby and me.

What to do about my 5-year old picky eater - advice please

My partner and I feel like we’re at a loss on what to do with our picky eater. For example, if my 5-year old comes to the table and doesn’t like the way dinner looks they will go “EW thats disgusting!” And/or will lick the food and say the same thing.

The other huge issue is our 2-year old (who is not a picky eater) will repeat exactly what our 5-year old will do which results in both kids not eating. This is almost every night.

We do not offer extra food. They have to eat what’s on their plate. They cannot have anything else. I DO offer a safe food on the plate. And I do try to repeat dinners my kids like. But my kid does not always eat it — even if it’s a safe meal. They also have “dessert” every night (which I ABSOLUTELY hate that we started) so we have to say “no dessert” if they don’t eat their dinner. (Also dessert is like a small piece of candy or popsicle…nothing excessive)

It is a constant push and pull with my 5-year old at dinner time. Typically they will eat some of the dinner but it comes with a lot of whining.

I’m exhausted. I know I am 100% creating a bad experience for food for my kid. ESPECIALLY with rewarding or taking away sweet treats. I don’t know how to undo it. I am trying to be so conscious of it because I struggle with a ED of overeating AND food noise and I am in therapy because of it so it is constantly triggering my ED as well.

Any advice is appreciated. I’m so tired of it being a constant struggle every night.

I need fair advice from mothers and fathers
I am the father
Our court order is through Virginia an
States that I have 3days a week 4hours maximum but other dates and times may be arranged between parents
For the better half of 6 months calendar documented I’ve been consistently getting him for 4 hours 3-4 days a week some days 8+hours since our order says other times and dates can be arranged.
Co parent agreed to overnights then those dates didn’t match so she denied saying I’m not reliable.
Middle of Sept we agreed that we’ll get him every other weekend 2weeks later beginning of Oct I ask if he can spend the night she denied earlier in the week and when I asked on Friday she agreed to let him stay on oct9 (my weekend) . Oct 9th he stayed no problems I sent updates. Oct 10 Saturday we had messaged back and forth about him staying the night she said she didn’t want him staying because I’ll be getting my teeth removed my argument was there was no reason for him to leave since I had child care already provided by my fiancée. She suggested 2pm I wanted more time with my son and we weren’t close to drop location. I told her @ 12pm Saturday drop off times of 8pm Saturday night or 8am Sunday morning for drop off . No response until I text at 7:12 pm Saturday night after my surgery. I fell asleep after sending text due to the medicine as my child was bathe , feed and already asleep. By 7:19 she finally responds saying “yes” after no indication over 7hours that 8pm was okay. proceeds to blow me up , call the police on me and then sent the threatening text messages next morning of how “I better be at drop off” when arrived she began to yell and bet-rate me in front of child (I said some unwanted things too in response I know I shouldn’t have) while saying if I want more time then change my visitation an that my fiancée shouldn’t be watching our child because she’s not on the order. (Our order dosent specifically say who can care for child) while threatening if I go to court I’ll have to pay her lawyer fees. Then come yesterday I get a piece of mail saying she filed contempt of court on the 19th for not returning our child on the 10th But not once did I with hold him from her especially when the time wasn’t specifically agreed on ahead of 8pm which is the time she wanted him back but never communicated that with me. As well I kept him another night after the 10th and told his grandma at drop off that I’ll be keeping him from 8am Friday - 8am Sunday she said okay . Few minutes later I get a text saying I’m breaking my visitation once again if I keep him again tonight from co parent while getting another text from grandma (con parents mom ) that I should reconsider dropping him off at 12pm instead of keeping him over night I kept him because I want my time with him as I updated her of his well being and she did not specifically say a meet up time nor denied him staying the time after the 10th (last weekend

What is everybody doing here for daylight savings? I have a three year old and her schedule is I wake her at 7:00 a.m. she naps from 1:00 to 2:40 and then we put her to bed at 8:00. My choices are to shift her to the same clock schedule which if I'm thinking correctly would be an hour later than what she's used to. OR I simply keep her scheduled biologically the same and change it to her waking at 6:00 a.m. nap at noon bed at 7:00. What would other toddler parents do?

My son is 3.5 and has been attending a Montessori school since he was 2. He is a very social, outgoing, happy child with excellent language skills and a great memory. He loves interacting with people, remembers names easily, and is generally gentle and easygoing.

However, his teachers have mentioned that he gets distracted during the work cycle and sometimes needs reminders to get started with an activity. He also seems to struggle with sustaining attention and participating consistently in individual work.
For example, his teacher mentioned that he was doing a pin-punching activity but got distracted and had difficulty staying with the work. He also watches others work and doesn’t try any challenging works.

At home, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in sitting down for activities like puzzles, coloring, blocks, or other typical tabletop toys.

I know he is only 3, and I understand that attention spans and independence develop gradually. However, hearing feedback about distraction and focus has made me wonder whether this is simply a developmental phase or something that might continue as he grows.

I’d love to hear from parents whose children were similar at age 3:
\- Did your children eventually develop better focus and the ability to complete individual work independently?
\-Did the Montessori environment help them develop these skills over time, or did you find that your child simply had a different learning style?

I’m not looking to label him or compare him with other children. I genuinely want to understand what is developmentally typical at this age and whether I should simply give him time or be more proactive in helping him develop these skills.
I’d especially appreciate hearing from parents whose children were very active and easily distracted at 3 but eventually settled into their work cycles. What did that progression look like?

hi all. would love some advice regarding my toddler son. he is 21 months old, and a couple weeks ago he began pushing other kids around his age. it’s extremely upsetting to see him push other little kids. sometimes he make kids cry, sometimes I cry too after getting him in the car and removing him from the situation.

for context, I am a stay at home mother, and I have a 5 month old baby as well as my toddler boy. He is genuinely a sweet boy, he loves to play outside, go on hikes, go to the park, and run around. He is a bit behind verbally, but understands directions well. in the past 3 weeks or so, the pushing began. I cannot trust him in any situation with other children at this point. I try to take him to some sort of fun activity every day and the pushing has remained.

what I do: i used to socialize with other parents, which sometimes I can do, but mostly I now stay very close to him so I can try to intervene. sometimes he be playing really well, and then very suddenly push. or he will run across the room and push. i sometimes am able to redirect him, but other times I am not fast enough (usually when I am holding or wearing the baby). I try to give him three or so chances. I explain we do not hit or push, the action hurts others feelings or could hurt them. before going into a playtime, I remind him to play nicely with others and then try to remind every 5 or so minutes so he doesn’t forget. after a few chances, I remove him from the fun to show a consequence.

what have others done in their journey to help their toddler or child stop a bad behavior? do I remove him from playtimes with other children for the time being? do I take away chances and go straight to removing him for consequence? I am determined to raise a good child and respectful boy. To be clear he lives in a loving home with really no problems except maybe we are a little on the messier side and try very hard to keep a clean home, and my husband does work a lot. thanks in advance 😰

My 10 year old was recently caught stealing in school. She took a sticker book from a classmate and didn't own up to it for 2 days while the boy was distraught. She only admitted to it in front of the teacher when another kid saw the sticker book with her. I had a long chat with her about why stealing is wrong and the inportance of being honest even when she's made a mistake.

Now 2 weeks later, she took some stickers again from another kid but this time she admitted it almost immediately when the teacher asked. I brought her home and while I appreciated that she was honest, I told her she would have consequences for the repeated stealing and that I had to cancel her birthday party because I didn't feel like she was really appreciating the value of honesty or understanding the difference between right and wrong. She was quite understandably devastated and with a little prompting she admitted to stealing several small items from other kids in the last 2 to 4 months which she never got caught for.

Now I'm really at a loss how to handle this. I've made an appointment with a therapist but it's still 2 weeks away. Any advice, tips, anything from experienced parents who have handled this situation before?

My brother and sister in law have just had a baby and I want to get them a gift which will hopefully make life slightly easier or just something nice for them.

I would love to go and cook some meals for them to have in the freezer but I am in Australia and they are in the UK, so ideally I’d like something that can achieve something similar that means they have a bit more time for themselves and their newborn baby, and their 2 year old

would love any ideas!!

2 year old behavior help

Toddler moms

Any toddler moms out there dealing with behavioral issues and/or phases? My daughter just turned 2 and I’m a first time mom — Not sure what is typical toddler behavior or what is concerning — She has and always developed normally. She speaks well, walks, jumps, etc. She definitely has sensory issues with certain food items (hates vegetables especially green ones lol), started with a noticeable gaze to her side eye at times, getting dressed/undressed is a fight, and overall doesn’t seem to be able to regulate her emotions well. When needing to be quiet, she squirms and squeals. Doesn’t make eye contact when she’s in trouble — but will do it when playing and happy. Recently wants to be held when going for nap which is so unlike her. Screams and cries for me. I’m really struggling whether I’m dealing with something other than a typical toddler or just difficulty regulating her emotions which I know can be age related. Any advice or similar situations would be great. Just a mom trying to figure it all out 😮‍💨😜

My daughter goes to an aftercare program at her school. School lets out at 3. The kids in the program go to the gym until 4 and then they go out to the playground until they are picked up. When they are at the playground the school building is completely empty. There is a young guy that works for the program. I try not to sterotype people but he seems a bit creepy. Just one of those gut feelings that is hard to shake. I asked my daughter what happens if someone has to use the bathroom when they are at the playground. She then told me that her friend (who is a little girl) had to use the bathroom and the other care providers had this guy take her into the school to use the bathroom alone. Just the two of them while the school is empty. Am i overacting for thinking that is inappropriate? I feel like a female provider should be escorting the girls and dont like the idea that they think its completely fine for this dude to be taking little girls into an empty school completely alone.

My daughter just turned 2 and we are just now thinking about starting an extra savings account for her since we are now making a comfortable living with extra money. We were late to the retirement savings party just by surviving but now we can do afford to do that and save for her as well.

The only thing I am weary about is what if she decided to not pursue college? The goal is to have her attend a vocational/ technical high school in hopes she would take up a blue collar trade but ultimately that’s up to her! So I want to be prepared either way.

I understand if not used, it can be transferred into a Roth IRA for the child which is definitely a nice bonus to jump start her retirement savings. (We are one and done so transferring money to another child for their education would not be an option)

Does anyone have anything different than a 529?

After my son goes to bed, I've started playing The Sims. I make a house, decorate it, deal with my fake family's ridiculous problems and then go to sleep.

Until one day my wife walked in and said, "Oh, so you can spend hours taking care of a fake family but not our real one!" I know she was joking, but weitdly it kind of bothered me.

Like, I work all day to support our family, and then I'm the one taking care of our son at night. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because the baby monitor goes off, and I have to get up and check on him. Barely get any sleep and then have to get up for work again.

And on weekends, my wife usually hangs out with her friends, so I'm the one doing housework and taking care of our son. When he naps, I'll watch some TV or play games, but I still keep and eye on him through the comfyer. So does that somehow mean I'm not taking care of my family just because I spend a little time playing games?

I don't know. Maybe she just happens to see me when I'm relaxing and thinks that's what I do all day. Am I being too sensitive about this? Should I just laugh it off or ask her if that's really how she feels?

I am a FTM to a 5 month old boy. I adore my mother but I'm struggling with my mom's husband who I don't like. They live out of state, so when they do come visit they're a package deal. I don't love that he is my child's grandfather, and I guess I'm looking for some perspective.

He is a sweet demeanored guy, but he makes a lot of really questionable decisions. He also has a problem with drinking. He's a very happy and friendly drunk, but he always drinks too much. I don't mind drinking, but even at my drinking friendly baby shower he was passing around fireball and sneaking shots in the bathroom because he knows it bothers my mother. He tried to pretend he didn't bring the fireball.

He makes career changes that impact their life without consulting my mother, asks people to keep secrets when he messes up, drives drunk after getting a DUI, makes racist jokes (because they get laughs in his local climate), and tries to give advice frequently that is just really backwards. There's more but I think you get the jist.

I'm not willing to cut off my mother because she really is wonderful. I just really dislike her husband. However, he's not a daily presence in my child's life and interacting with people I don't like is a part of life. My child interacting with people I don't like isn't something I will always be able to control healthily. I guess I'm wondering what kind of boundaries you would draw and how you would approach this in my shoes.

My husband and I are parents to a one year old. We also have older children from other relationships. We have decided we are sort of done. There’s not much love or respect and it makes me sad. He brought up staying together for our son. I am not sure what to do. I don’t have a job and everything is so expensive so I feel like yeah it would be easier to just stay here and find a job for now. And I really don’t want to have my son go with out his two parents. I did the whole split time with my other child and really didn’t want to go through that again. However I feel like it’s inevitable that we will divorce at some point. I’m also not sure what this even looks like. Do we date other people? Do we act like everything is fine? I’m so confused. Has anyone stayed for the kids?

Ok so I just want to say up front I am not a parent. But I have my great nephew (16mo) for 4 days this week and we just finished our first night. He doesn't sleep like his parents did when they were babies. He seems to have no sleep schedule at all. He doesn't fuss or anything to indicate he is tired. Just randomly drops and sleeps for about 2 to 6 hours at a time.

Its noon right now. I anticipated him being awake by like 8 am but considering he didnt sleep the 10 to 12 hours I expected him to im now in a dilemma. Hes currently sleeping and has been since 6a when I was finally able to get him to be still long enough to fall asleep.

Do I have any chance to change this around while he is here? What do I do? This is no where close to the 2 hour nap halfaway through the day and 10 to 12 hours at night that his parent had no problem doing when they were small. Im lost. Clearly I can't force him to sleep but my 40yo body is tired and very much hopes for some much needed sleep tonight.

Any advice? Do I just ride the wave and crash Thursday night? Please tell me there are possible solutions.

It's funny how the smallest moments can end up meaning so much to kids. sometimes we spend time planning big outings or buying things to make them happy, then they get excited over something completely random. i wonder how often we underestimate the little things we do every day. kids seem to find magic in stuff adults barely notice anymore.